Kevin Kline, Patti LuPone, Frances Conroy: They’re just a few of the actors who began their careers touring with the Acting Company. That long list of illustrious alumni may one day include Joseph Midyett and Christopher Michael McFarland, judging from their powerful performances in the troupe’s stirring revival of “Of Mice and Men.”

First seen on Broadway in 1937, John Steinbeck’s classic concerns migrant workers George (Midyett) and Lennie (McFarland), who’ve just shown up at a California ranch, desperate for jobs. George — small and fast-talking — has assumed the role of protector for the hulking, dimwitted Lennie, whose childlike love of petting soft things frequently gets him into trouble.

They immediately find themselves at odds with the ranch owner’s hotheaded son, Curley (Michael McDonald), who’s clearly threatened by the constant male attention his wife (Megan Bartle) seems to crave. While George tries to stay clear of her, Lennie mainly dreams of the pair someday owning a farm where he can tend to his beloved rabbits. But his inability to control his massive strength has fateful consequences.

Director Ian Belknap’s stark production, performed on a mostly bare, wooden-planked set, brings the play’s elemental themes to stunning dramatic life. Beautifully realized are such moments as when an aging ranch hand (Joseph Tisa) reluctantly agrees to allow his mangy old dog to be shot, in a scene foreshadowing the play’s tragic conclusion.

McFarland is deeply affecting as the mentally damaged man-child, while Midyett superbly depicts both George’s deep love and his frustration at having to care for his friend.

“When I think of the sweet time I’d have without you, I go nuts,” he bitterly tells Lennie, but you can tell he doesn’t quite mean it.

The supporting ensemble fulfill their roles expertly, with particularly fine efforts by Tisa as the ranch-hand who dreams of throwing in with the pair and Yaegal T. Welch as the black stable-hand who chafes at being ostracized by his fellow workers.

This superb production runs only through Saturday before touring the country. The company returns for “As You Like It” in March.